M's pitcher Doug Fister trying to build on last year

Seattle Mariners starting pitcher Doug Fister throws against the Oakland Athletics in the first inning during a baseball game Thursday, Sept. 30, 2010, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)

PEORIA, Ariz. - For as much as Doug Fister has been with the Seattle Mariners the past two years, it's easy to forget he's just getting to know himself as a pitcher.

The 27-year-old right-hander is still making adjustments — mentally and physically — to learn what's necessary to become the consistent presence in the starting rotation that he wants to be and that the Mariners need.

Fister took his first step Monday, allowing three hits and two runs in two innings of the Mariners' 6-6 tie against the San Diego Padres.

He battled his command in the first inning, when the four straight Padres reached base with one out, including Orlando Hudson's long drive halfway up the tall center field wall.

After that, Fister got the ball down in the strike zone and was barely touched the rest of his time. He retired the next five Padres he faced and finished his 40-pitch outing feeling good.

"There were some adjustments that needed to be made and rust that needed to be kicked off," Fister said. "Other than that, I felt pretty good."

Fister said he's stronger now than he was last year at this time, the product of an offseason workout regimen designed to keep him healthy throughout the season. That's was a problem last season when he missed a month because of shoulder fatigue. He finished with a career-high 175 innings (171 with the Mariners, four with the Class AAA Tacoma Rainiers) and said he felt fine by the end of the season. He was 6-14 with a 4.11 ERA.

"I had the hiccup there in the middle, but that was one of the reasons we really hit it hard on the physical side of things," Fister said. "The strength thing is a real big thing. You can't do anything when you're not on the field. That's my focus, staying healthy.

"I'm trying to build on last year. I'm not so much looking at numbers, but my focus level and my mental side of the game."

Unlike Felix Hernandez and Jason Vargas, who are taking it easy early in spring training to avoid too much wear, Fister has a regular workload from the get-go. If he needs to back off, he will.

"It's kind of a touchy-feely thing," he said. "I still haven't done this enough to know how my body feels right now. I'm still kind of playing things out. I feel like I have a decent handle on things, but there are always adjustments that need to be made (and) I'm kind of having to figure it out as I go.

"There are always new things that jump and get you, and at different times you're feeling different things. It's a game of adjustments. You have to look at it that way and do your best to adjust to it."